Serious Business
by Vycksta
Summary: She has been behaving strangely for a while, he was warned, yet Gary just dismissed it all. There was no way that Erika was the sort to get annoyed at legendary Pokemon who weren't even of her favourite type...


**Title**: Serious Business  
**Fandom**: Pokemon  
**Ship**: Earthshipping (( Gary x Erika ))  
**Rating**: If you can't take a couple of swear words then no hope for you!

**Authors Notes**: What's that, you say? I have used the wrong name for this pair? Actually... I haven't.

A word to the wise, people in Pokemon who like to ship. You are in a fandom in which new names are being added to the list on a daily basis, a fandom that has literally millions of possible pair combinations. I can understand you to a point if you get a name wrong or assume that a certain pair has this name coined when it's actually for another... but come on. Go onto Bulbagarden and just look the ship up. CTRL plus F is your best friend here. Trust me when I say that naming a shipping is a very deadly game. -nod nod-

So to the one-shot. This is basically a light-hearted swipe at those in the Pokemon fandom who get names wrong and this piece can really be summed up in the last 2,000 words. Yet hey, you should know me and my like to fling in a lot of description everywhere by now... it turned into another mini story.

To any true fans of Earthshipping, I will apologize in advance that this is a parody of sorts. Even if I do prefer Erika with women this is not aimed to nark you off. If you felt like it you'd see why I used this ship by reading it. -shrugs- I do hope however that I have both Gary and Erika in character; despite the nature of this one-shot I like to do my best to ensure that characters are not butchered.

Reviews are loved yet i'm not taking any constructive criticism because i'm hardly likely to write something like this again. Flames? Bring it on, this was only done for the lulz and because I take the whole shipping name business very seriously. Bwahahahaha.

---

People always seem to say that the best things in life are free... and on this particular occasion the saying was proving to be very true indeed.

The clouds in the sky were starting to transform in colour from a pure, innocent white into an orange so vivid it was nearly fluorescent and the serene blue of the sky itself was also changing in colour, a sure fire sign that the sun was beginning to set and let the course of night make its mark. As it was slowly disappearing from view the heat radiating star left a magnificent long-lasting parting shot; casting out a beautiful glow, near crimson in colour, which highlighted every outline of everything that stood in its path. Trees, other plant life and buildings were instantly transformed into objects too stunning not to observe... however these observations were being ignored completely by one particular teenager.

With his right arm kept in front of his eyes as a shield to protect them from the blazing sunset, top Pokemon researcher Gary Oak was flying back on one of his many Pokemon to the picturesque region of Kanto after spending nearly three months in Sinnoh, another region littered with many towering mountains, getting information on the newly discovered Pokemon there and their evolution chains. It was a testing time for the young man as only two months prior to the expedition he announced his desire to lead a team of fellow researchers to the then hardly known Sinnoh for the first time since following in his grandfather's footsteps yet as somebody who oozed a lot of natural confidence, Gary managed to cope brilliantly.

"It's not going to be a problem!" Gary could remember saying to those concerned about his welfare. "In fact this is going to be a walk in the park, trust me!"

The three months in itself sped by quicker than the fastest of Dodrio as together with his team, Gary spent night after night observing and noting down information on the newest of the many elemental creatures to roam the world. Folders of new discoveries quickly filled and much to his amazement one of Gary's Pokemon even evolved into one of the latest creatures, its method of evolving sparking new speculation about transformation techniques. However it soon wasn't long before the three months was up and Gary had to head back to Kanto, something that didn't bother him because he was missing two people more than he thought he would.

The first person was the man who had been there for him all his life, the world renowned observer Professor Samuel Oak, who would be ecstatic to see his grandson after so long and be more than pleased with all the new information collected... yet the second person, while still somewhat new in his life, had a little bit more importance to Gary in terms of relation.

Using his free hand to check that the Poke Balls attached to his belt were still secure and tightly fastened, Gary groaned as the strain of keeping his arm aloft was finally starting to get to him. He lowered his head to further protect his eyes from the still setting sun and patted his Fearow, who seemed to be rather energetic despite having to carry his trainer on his back for the past three hours.

"Can you get a move on already?" the teenager questioned, his voice laced with a little bit of arrogance. "You've already taken longer than normal, at this rate the rest of the team will be overtaking us and they're not leaving Sinnoh till tomorrow!"

Fearow let out a crow of despair; the Beak Pokemon was going as fast as he could muster with somebody sitting on his back... yet at the same time he knew that Gary could be a very impatient person more often than not. So with another caw, Fearow gathered up as much of his inner strength as humanely possible and proceeded to soar across the colour changing sky at a relatively quicker pace.

"Much better!" enthused Gary, giving his Pokemon another pat on the back while wincing from the glare the sun was still emitting. "Don't forget, I want to make a detour to Celadon City before going back to Pallet; three months without Erika can be a bit of a drag!" he finished contently, gaining another squawk from Fearow as a reply.

As Fearow set about flying to Celadon City as quickly as he could, Gary looked at his watch and started to work out the time. If he could get to Celadon within the next half an hour Erika, the Gym Leader of the flower filled city, would still be in her perfumery and he could surprise her with a bunch of her favourite blossoms... a gesture he didn't like to do when Erika's underlings were around. Their giggling was enough to make Gary want to tell them to belt up and that was something he didn't want to happen.

Not around Erika.

Not around his girlfriend.

With a smirk and eyes firmly shut to still protect them from the Sun, Gary casts his mind back to the time when he first told his grandfather that he, somebody full of confidence, arrogance and certainty, had asked the quiet, demure, nature loving Erika out on a date, which she gladly accepted. The surprise on Professor Oak's face was one that was made to be captured on a camera... yet the shock soon disappeared into a smile, as the older man patted his grandson on the shoulder and wished him well in the relationship.

Word then soon got around that Gary and Erika were a couple and this caused immense shock waves around the people in Kanto who knew one of the two newcomers to the dating game.

For Gary it was mainly from lovestruck girls, who were infuriated that the guy they had admired for so long would strike up a relationship with somebody who was his complete opposite on the personality scale. Erika was also a woman who, unlike those who fancied Gary, didn't care much for her own personal looks; she preferred to see the beauty in her Pokemon and her plants and dressed mainly in kimonos, refusing to show much of her flesh. To start with the researcher ignored all of the pestering yet it wasn't until two infatuated women threatened to wipe the floor with both Erika and her Pokemon in her Gym that he finally snapped...

"I asked Erika out because she is somebody who isn't as egotistical as you bimbos. She's kind, clever, helps me out in my research and to top it all, she's attractive and doesn't know it. Leave her well alone or your Pokemon will be mincemeat after a battle with mine." was what he said to the dumbfounded girls... and all he needed to say, as after that all of them left him to enjoy his relationship.

Some even congratulated Gary on getting together with his girlfriend and wished him well... although it could have been debatable as to whether they meant it or whether deep down they hoped it would fail faster than a Pachirisu in battle with a Tyranitar.

In Erika's case, which she told Gary, it was from her underlings in both her Gym and in the perfumery she ran, concerned for the sweet-natured woman that she would be hurt by somebody who was cockier than she could ever be. However unlike those who bothered Gary, Erika's friends believed her when she first told them that everything would run smoothly.

""He's changed a lot from the young boy who challenged me over half a decade ago and displayed nothing but arrogance. Deep down he really is a kind soul, makes me feel special and he's now also a researcher. Oh yes, he also finds my perfume absolutely enchanting." They seemed to love you after that!" were the words that Erika relayed to Gary, words that made him smirk with pride.

Once upon a time, when he was a Pokemon trainer who was absolutely confident in being the champion and owning every elemental creature, he would have dated a woman who was like him in personality and who would fawn at his feet. Yet once he saw the error of his ways, mellowed down a bit and followed his grandfather in the path of Pokemon research he started to fall for girls who had a personality as divine as the new evolution methods he uncovered. Girls who took time in getting to know people, who had a career in their own right, who didn't care much for their looks, who were only confident in spurts.

Girls like Erika, the one who he was proud to call his girlfriend.

Finally opening his eyes as he sensed that the sun had set, Gary looked around at the star littered ebony coloured sky that surrounded him and his Fearow and then cast his gaze down at the view below, to see what it was. Instantly he recognised the long and winding road with the steep angle to it and the large patch of grass to its right hand side and he punched the air in delight.

"Cycling Road! Nice one Fearow, we're nearly there!"

Just after a minute after he spoke his words, Gary could see the magnificent buildings that graced Celadon City and almost leapt off his Fearow before the Beak Pokemon had managed to successfully land in the square. With a word of grateful thanks and a minute or two for a quick few gulps of water from the city's beautiful flowing fountain the Pokemon researcher recalled Fearow back into his Poke Ball and opened up another one to let his favourite Pokemon, the midnight coloured Eeveelution Umbreon, out for some fresh air. Gary then contently looked around and almost bounded over to a small stall that sold many a brilliant bouquet of flowers... however he suddenly stopped short of reaching his destination.

Standing at the stall with her back to Gary was a tall female with blonde hair that cascaded almost flawlessly down her back and stopping three quarters of the way down. Her white tank top glimmered slightly in the moonlight and her denim shorts left little to the imagination. Small giggles could also be heard as she delicately fingered through the petals of the flowers she had just purchased... and each and every time she laughed Gary shivered. He didn't want to see her. Not now of all times...

Ushering to his Umbreon to keep quiet, the researcher turned around silently, deciding to just go and visit Erika in the perfumery... unluckily for him, the female at the flower stall also twisted the other way.

"Hey, Gary!" she called out sweetly, making him shudder again. "How have you been? How LONG has it been?"

"Huh, you know full well it's been three months." was the quick retort as Gary turned to face the blonde, who had a smile on her face that looked like it was permantly glued on. "After all, you are one of Erika's Gym underlings... Tamia."

The beam of sunshine soon became a frown of the night as Tamia also let out a small sigh, placing her free hand on her hip while keeping a firm hold of her bouquet of blooms. She was a little tempted to whack Gary across her face for being sarcastic to her... yet she knew there was something she did often that made him get annoyed at her just as easily.

"So..." Tamia started, her free hand now going around in a circular motion. "I didn't realise you were into flowers! Or are you buying some for Erika?" she added cheekily, stifling a laugh.

Gary's immediate reaction was to stare blankly at Tamia's sudden outburst; he couldn't believe that somebody as generally ditzy as her was sharp enough to guess correctly the first time around... with Tamia, Gary noticed, she was the last of Erika's Gym companions to understand what the others were trying to say. At the same time though he wasn't going to let her think that she had him beat, that she was indeed right. Confidence and cockiness was a part of his general persona, after all.

"Wrong!" he announced, folding his arms and grinning deviously. "I was actually going to ask you if you knew where Erika was."

Tamia pondered his question for a few seconds, rubbing her chin while she was doing so. "She's at the perfumery as always, stocking up and checking out sales in other shops. Come on Gary, give me some credit. I was..."

"Incorrect in accusing me of wanting to buy flowers for Erika." Gary immediately interrupted, making the young woman instantly stop speaking and his Umbreon look up at his trainer, head titled and red eyes wide. "I was going to ask you but then I realized so I turned around and was going to go there when you annoyingly called out."

"Ah... Gary..." Tamia pondered, a knowing smile appearing on her face as she once again took to delicately stroking the flowers in her recently purchased bouquet. "The perfumery is behind me." she continued wistfully, pointing behind her, the direction going beyond the stall and to the right. "You were going back the way you came so you could avoid me then when I left the stall you would then buy the flowers, because we all know that you don't like getting them around us... as we like to giggle! So am I right?"

"No."

"Stop it now; we all know what you are like..."

"I said NO, Tamia."

"Then why are you not looking at me?"

"OH ALL RIGHT ALREADY! Yes, I WAS going to get some bleeding flowers for my girlfriend!" Gary finally relented, holding his arms up in the air while rolling his eyes. "Is that such a crime?"

Tamia smiled deviously, resisting the urge to start chuckling constantly. "Well the way you kept trying to deny the fact that you were... I would say yes." she replied sarcastically, a comment that even made Gary's Umbreon grin.

The Pokemon researcher let out a disgruntled sigh, running one of his hands through his short, spiked-up brunette locks. Even after realizing the error of his ways all those years ago in a battle against his long-term rival, any sort of defeat was still a bitter pill to swallow. So with another sigh escaping his lips, Gary's arms were folded again and his eyes looked straight into Tamia's own crystalline cyan ones.

"Quit while you are ahead..." was all he stated. "BOTH of you." he added as a slightly cynical afterthought, staring at his Umbreon, who had taken to beaming like a Pokemon who has won a battle with another creature thirty levels higher than itself.

Silence graced the scene for a few seconds and the gentle howling of the evening wind was the only noticeable sound heard as Gary continued to stare out his grinning Umbreon while Tamia watched the duo curiously. Then when the Moonlight Pokemon finally decided to stop smiling and take to preening himself instead Gary strolled over to the flower stall and picked the biggest bouquet of crimson red and snow white roses on offer. After paying for them he turned back to Tamia, who was still watching what was happening with intent. Surprisingly for Gary, the sprightly blonde was not laughing, not even in the slightest.

"Meowth got your tongue?" the researcher asked, those four words snapping Tamia back into the real world.

"No, not at all." she replied simply, smiling somewhat proudly. "I just find it nice that you finally admitted something that all of us who work under Erika knew all along."

"Mmm, whatever." Gary dismissed, beckoning for Umbreon to come and rejoin him at his side, patting the Pokemon on the head when his command was obeyed. He then smiled wistfully and glanced back at Tamia, who was starting to feel cold from the nightly weather. "I guess there is no point in asking how you have been over the past quarter, as it's clear that you have gotten sharper and more sarcastic." he then said dryly, to try and change the conversation.

Tamia, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to try and warm herself up, smiled in appreciation of her personality change being noticed. "Yep. I was fed up of being the dense one, fed up of being the last one to get what was going on."

"That's good, I suppose." Gary replied apathetically, starting to find the conversation rather awkward. Thankfully for him, Tamia's shivering got him thinking of a get-out clause. She may have gotten wittier and less of a childish teenager who giggled at everything remotely funny yet Gary still found Erika's underling an annoyance, even if the two had only been in each other's company for around ten minutes.

"Look, you're cold and I really want to see Erika." he said in a somewhat sharp tone, a hand on Umbreon's head as a cue for the Moonlight Pokemon to start walking. "So I guess i'll smell you later!" he finished, heading off towards the direction of the perfumery.

"Ah... okay." Tamia replied, frowning at the way Gary just suddenly decided to end the conversation and leave. She watched him walk away for a few moments, absent-mindedly stroking the petals of her flowers again, before realizing something; it's not just her that has undergone a change to her personality in the space of three months... "Gary! Stop!"

Despite the thought that continuing to walk played on his mind, Gary stopped strolling and turned around to face Tamia again; he knew that if he didn't she would have just continued to pester him anyway, making him even more annoyed than he was starting to feel now.

"What now? Don't you have someone to give those bloody flowers to?" he groaned, hoping that the blonde would take the hint and leave him to go and talk to his beloved.

Blinking a few times, Tamia instantly got the hint, as obvious as it was... yet stood firm. He may be overly arrogant and confident at times yet he was dating the woman she worked under and he deserved to know. She smiled wryly and glanced down at her flowers before opening her mouth.

"It's about Erika."

Those three words were enough to grab Gary's attention. His eyes widened at the mention of his girlfriend's name and with that he devoted said attention solely to Tamia, who was noticably shivering. Partly because she was seriously starting to feel the chilling breeze of the wind and partly down to the fact that Gary had his arms folded once again and was glaring at the Gym underling.

"Tell me more." he said sharply, making Tamia feel just a little bit nervous. With a sigh as she feared not being believed by the Pokemon researcher she composed herself and began her explanation.

"It started a couple of months ago. Erika was in her perfumery extracting more essence from her Gloom to make another batch of the bestseller. While she was doing so she was waiting for an e-mail from a supplier from Goldenrod City in Johto and got distracted, looking at other websites while passing the time. I'm not sure what exactly happened after that as she didn't go into a lot of detail with me and the others... but Erika ended up developing a form of hatred towards the alleged creators of Hoenn, Groudon and Kyogre." Tamia stated politely and calmly, wondering if Gary wanted to say anything from what she had explained so far. When she noticed that he was ushering her to continue, the young bombshell did exactly that.

"The change in her was noticeable to a point. If you didn't mention about those two Pokemon she was her typical placid and good-natured self, however one day I unfortunately asked Erika why she was so dead against a pair of Pokemon that have been lying dormant in Hoenn for thousands of years and she went ballistic, saying that it was nobody's business but hers and yours and that this was a bigger outrage than the last person to insult the delightful scent of her perfume." recollected Tamia, starting to flush a little from the embarrassment the situation was to her at the time. "It was only a couple of weeks ago that a young challenger came to the Celadon Gym... he mentioned that he was from Hoenn and Erika instantly flipped, whipping his Pokemon in battle then laughing as his dejected self exited the Gym. It was rather frightening to see Erika so wound up and horrid... then again, every time she has gone crazy we've all been a little concerned." she finally finished, breathing a sigh of relief that everything was out into the open.

Gary looked unimpressed at Tamia's speech of an explanation, glancing slightly at the bouquet of roses. "So... you're trying to say that Erika goes mental whenever Groudon and Kyogre are mentioned, a pair of Pokemon who reside too far away and have never been seen by people, including researchers, for thousands of years?"

"Yes." Tamia replied simply... but before she could try and elaborate more on her answer Gary had broken out into a rather disturbing fit of laughter, making both his Umbreon and Tamia look rather mortified.

"Have you heard yourself woman?" he managed to say in-between cackles, hands on his knees as he was feeling weak from laughing so hard. "That's the biggest pile of crap I have ever heard in my life! Erika wouldn't care about legendary Pokemon who are not Grass type, Pokemon who don't appear attractive to her! Stop being such a total moron, do you think I was born yesterday?"

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah, and a swarm of Grumpig are flying this way."

"Gary, stop it! I know we have our differences and everything but I thought you would understand!" pleaded Tamia in desperation, although deep down she had an inkling that this would occur. "I mean, we both get on with Erika so brilliantly and even tonight we made a little breakthrough..."

Laughter finally ceased, simply because Gary had no breath to continue. He dusted himself down, took one final look at Tamia and grinned wickedly, setting off towards Erika's perfumery and dismissing Tamia with a nonchalant flick of his hand and four blunt words.

"Smell you later, loser."

That was all that was needed to make Tamia snap, glaring sternly at the back of Gary's head while viciously shaking her bouquet of flowers at him. "Oh yeah? Well the joke will be on you when you find out that I am telling the truth, Gary Oak! You mark my words!"

"Stick to giggling over the fact that I buy flowers for my girlfriend rather than playing the concerned bimbo." Gary called back, chuckling to himself when Tamia replied by trying to verbally batter him with a flurry of swear words.

As he strolled rather merrily towards the perfumery and with Umbreon by his side loyally, the Moonlight Pokemon bobbing his head in some sort of rhythm he was mentally playing, Gary was stuck in two minds. Part of him couldn't wait to see Erika after such a long absence, to fuss over her while he told her about his tales of finding new Pokemon, including a Grass type that fitted Erika's standards of attractive. The second part, much to his annoyance, was just relaying the words Tamia said to him about his girlfriend over and over in his head like a stuck record.

Groudon and Kyogre were legends of Hoenn; the titans who created the land and the sea while being engaged in a war with each other, the beasts who were induced into a dormant state by Rayquaza, creature of the atmosphere... a duo of Pokemon whose tale is still unknown to many people, trainers and otherwise, across the lands. Why would Erika know about them? Why would she care?

He started to think a little deeper. Much as he still harbours a form of dislike towards the woman, Tamia was behaving less moronic and she does care about Erika. Yet at the same time she still laughed over Gary being at the flower stall and didn't look him in the eye when she explained her story. Maybe Tamia was right... to a extent?

"Mmm, Erika's probably found out something about them that would get my interest, something that would make me want to go to Hoenn for a while." Gary finally dismissed to himself out loud, Umbreon lagging behind and wondering if his trainer had lost it.

Reaching the perfumery, Gary quickly preened himself by running a hand through his hair and adjusting the collar on his ebony coloured shirt then thumped on the door, hoping that Erika was in hearing distance... he didn't want to barge in and frighten her into thinking she was being burgled. Thankfully for the researcher his bashing was heard as footsteps could be heard padding down the hallway before the door finally opened to reveal Erika on the other side.

"Oh my... Gary." she spoke instantly, hands forming a praying action in front of her mouth, green eyes sparkling with delight.

"Long time no see." Gary replied, his thoughts complimenting how stunning Erika looked in a green kimono, the skirt coloured in a snow white and the sleeves decorated in small flowers of a light red, stopping at the shoulders. "I got you these as I know... whoa, steady on!" he ended up saying as Erika, almost childishly and definitely out-of-character, flung her arms around her boyfriend's neck, crushing the roses that Gary had got a short while ago.

"I missed you so much."

"Missed you too Erika."

While the pair of lovebirds remained in their embrace, hugging each other as if their lives depended on it, the increasingly bored Umbreon looked around and noticed Erika's favourite Pokemon companion, Gloom, observing the scene in the doorway. With a welcoming bark, Umbreon bounded over to Gloom, who had a face of concern on his generally nonchalant face. The Weed Pokemon whispered furtively into Umbreon's ear, words that made Gary's elemental friend gasp... and in one quick movement Umbreon was charging down the hallway, Gloom following as quickly as he could.

Eventually Gary and Erika unattached themselves from each other and with a content smile, Erika gratefully accepted the now damaged roses from Gary, kissing him as a thank you. The Celadon Gym leader then took her boyfriend by the hand and led him inside, shutting and locking the perfumery door and leading him down the hallway and past one of the store rooms, where many boxes of freshly made perfume resided.

As the two walked down to the room Erika noticed that Gloom and Umbreon were in a nearby room, looking at a computer screen with serious interest.

"I wonder..."

"What's wrong Erika?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all!" Erika quickly dismissed, continuing to tug on Gary's hand. "Come on, i'm sure there's lots you want to say about Sinnoh!"

Erika's sudden change of subject did make Gary wonder for a few seconds as to why, but that thought vanished as suddenly as it was conjured as Erika dragged him into the kitchen to make him one of her specialities, chocolate mint tea. Within seconds of the kettle boiling Erika sweetly asked him how his adventures in Sinnoh went and that was all the incentive the researcher needed to launch into a fully detailed story of the past three months.

As Gary kept going on about the new evolution methods that certain Pokemon underwent, including Pokemon who for years have never been able to change into a different form, Erika looked at her boyfriend with intent, yet her own mind was wandering elsewhere. Why were Gloom and Umbreon on the computer? She knows that she left it on because that's where she was when Gary knocked on the door...

"I thought I kept it to myself when we were alone, although it seems that he knows about it..." Erika mused to herself, however the fact that her ponderings were spoken, albeit softly, stopped Gary from continuing the one-sided conversation.

"What? Gloom knows about how Eevee can now change into a Grass type evolution?" he queried in amazement, gulping down the last of his drink. "Come to think of it, you as well?"

Erika snapped back into reality, blinking her eyes rapidly and looking a little flustered at speaking her thoughts out loud. "Oh... i'm so sorry Gary. Please forgive me, that was rather rude and thoughtless." she said softly, placing down her own cup of tea. Unfortunately for the Celadon Gym leader this didn't deter Gary in the slightest, as he noticed how red Erika's cheeks were getting.

"You haven't been yourself since we've come inside."

"Huh? Really? Wherever did you get that notion from; I know I am a little tired from it being a busy day here at the perfumery..."

"Don't lie to me Erika."

That instantly riled Erika, clasping her hands over her chest while her face showed horror and dismay. "I'm not lying!" she said indignantly, voice rising slightly. "Why would I lie to you of all people? You're my boyfriend and I love you."

Gary just shrugged his shoulders, folding his arms across his chest and smirking confidently. "So what Tamia said to me as I was on my way to see you was nothing but one humongous lie?"

"Ta-Tamia?" stammered Erika.

"Yep."

Rubbing her forehead somewhat furiously, Erika couldn't look Gary in the eyes after what he had just said, preferring to gaze at the floor instead to also hide her blushing cheeks. Tamia may be a little clueless sometimes and more often than not is the last person to fully understand what the current situation is... yet she is also very honest and is the one person Erika had a go at on a certain day when she mentioned a certain pair of legendary Pokemon...

She wondered how she was going to say what was plaguing her mind without getting aggravated over the subject as whenever it was mentioned in the past she was instantly annoyed; there was no way she could start to get infuriated over her boyfriend over it... yet her thoughts were cancelled out for a few short seconds as Gary lifted Erika's chin up with his hand, staring intently into Erika's emerald eyes.

"Quote me if i'm wrong here, but I thought the basis of a relationship was being able to trust each other with anything..." the researcher mused, making Erika blush a little more. "So throw me a bone and tell me what's bothering you. Although I do have a rough idea..." he finished, not looking forward to seeing Tamia again as he was beginning to realize that she was right.

Erika let out a small sigh. "What did Tamia tell you?"

"If you want me to be blunt, that you hate Groudon and Kyogre, the legends of Hoenn, yet she and all of your other underlings have no idea why."

The Celadon Gym leader shuddered; hearing Gary mention the names of those Pokemon made her want to scream, yet she mentally refused to do so... the least she owed Gary was a decent explanation without going off the handle. Composing herself and smiling faintly, Erika got up, smoothed down her kimono and placed her hands on Gary's shoulders.

"Follow me."

Erika led the way out of the kitchen, Gary following her intently. The walk was in complete silence, as Erika was constructing an explanation in her head while trying to keep herself composed and Gary was plainly confused as to why Erika would hate a ground type and a water type legendary from another region... and the best way to avoid Tamia tomorrow as he was not the type to apologize.

A short space of time passed before Erika stopped walking down the hallway and ushered Gary into the room where her computer resided. Both her Gloom and Gary's Umbreon were still there, sitting comfortably on a chair and talking to each other in their own languages about what they were seeing on the screen... although the conversation suddenly stopped when the pair of Pokemon noticed that they were joined in company by their trainers. With one confident leap from the pair of them the two elemental creatures bounded off the chair and proceeded to pad out of the room, Gloom stopping to get a reassuring pat from Erika and Umbreon to get the fur on his head ruffled by Gary, although the researcher was still clearly distracted with thoughts as to why Erika led him here.

"Pokemon certainly are intelligent, aren't they?" Erika queried politely, getting a nod of agreement from her beloved.

Calmly, Erika walked over to the computer, tutting and smiling wryly upon what she was seeing. She then typed in a few words on the keyboard and hit the enter key then after a few seconds what she wanted Gary to see came up on the screen. With a deep breath she beckoned for Gary to come over to witness what she was glancing at.

"Take a look at this." she said, looking away from the screen. Gary obediently went over to the computer and started to read out loud the words displayed on the screen.

""You may think that I hate you, yet nothing could be further from the truth. If only I could be strong and say the words I feel, if only we can let bygones be bygones, if only you knew how I truly felt about you." Earthshipping, or Groudon x Kyogre. One-shot."

Gary looked at the few sentences with apathy, glancing around to see what website he was browsing. He noticed that it was a place where people could write fanfiction of any kind and instantly blinked with bemusement; as far as he was concerned his girlfriend was getting highly worked up over nothing, that she was acting out-of-character over the fact that there was somebody out there who, judging by the way it was displayed, wrote stories involving legendary Pokemon in love. Still confused, Gary looked over to Erika, who was now studying his actions.

"Well?"

"I don't get it." was Gary's blunt reply.

"You what? Oh Gary dear, you really have been away from here for a while..." Erika sighed gently, folding her arms and looking patiently at her boyfriend.

A cocky smile appeared on Gary's face. "Mmm, it's called spending a lot of time doing research in Sinnoh." he stated wistfully, shrugging his shoulders.

"Gary, this is rather important."

"How is it? The way I see it, the reason that you've been acting so angry while i've been away is because somebody writes fanfiction over legendary Pokemon! I mean, what's the problem in that? Not exactly my personal flavour yet every trainer has their sad little kicks in life..." the researcher trailed off, mind now set on going back into the kitchen, yet as he turned to do just that Erika grabbed his wrist and gently pulled him back into the room.

"That's not it. If you were to just let me explain without making your arrogant assumptions then maybe you would understand!"

Hazel coloured eyes looked into eyes of a stunning meadow green as Gary realized that Erika was right, even if there was a part of him that had a funny feeling that what he was about to hear was going to be nothing but nonsense. Still, it was the least he owed his girlfriend... so with that thought crossing his mind he shook Erika's hand off his wrist and sat down on the computer chair.

"All right then, let's hear it." and with those words said, Erika nodded contently and began her tale of why she was often behaving in an out-of-character manner.

"Many years ago, back when the only region people knew had a gym challenge in was Kanto, a young trainer decided that it would be to his or her amusement to pair off the Gym Leaders with each other, regardless of age, gender, or whether or not the two involved had any romantic feelings towards each other." Erika began, completely oblivious to the fact that Gary was staring at her like she has just announced that she went to rock concerts and trained fire-type Pokemon. "Using the word shipping, taken from the word relationship, as a suffix, this trainer added words before shipping to make up new words that summed the pairing up... and if you supported it you become a shipper. For example Brock and Misty as a pairing is known as Gymshipping, as both of them own a gym and are the first leaders you meet... and if you support the idea of them being in a relationship then you are a Gymshipper."

Gary was looking unimpressed so far. "Weirdos." was all he said as Erika let out a nervous laugh and carried on with her explanation.

"What started off as a little bit of fun with this one trainer soon caught on with other people, trainers and non-trainers alike... and as the years went on more and more of these shippings were invented, each one having a unique name and even Pokemon species being paired off or grouped together. Nobody is safe from being shipped... Gym Leaders like myself from across the regions and even trainers or people who have made a significant mark in the world we live in get shipped. You are a prime example, my dear." Erika beamed with pride, resisting the urge to cling to Gary and never let go.

Gary's ears pricked up at the mention of him being involved. "I am? Mmm, how many?"

"About 100 shippings, I think. One of your main shippings is Darkshipping, which is you and your Umbreon."

"What the fuck?" Gary questioned, now starting to get concerned as to whether these trainers... people who he'll probably never encounter in his lifetime... had lives of their own, wanting to pair him off with his favourite Pokemon and support it avidly. "What fucking freaks... but carry on anyway." he added, shivering.

Erika smiled faintly, getting closer to the computer. "When you and I first got together I was so happy, it was like all my birthdays had come at once. I knew it would be tough what with your having to travel a lot for research... yet I also knew that we would work. We have something really special, you and I." she started enthusiastically before instantly calming down.

"One night after you left here to go back to Pallet Town I went onto the computer to buy some more flowers from a supplier and as I was browsing, I come across the shipping list. Curiousity got to the best of me and I searched to see if there was a name for the two of us, as you being quite the well-known researcher meant that you possibly had many fans... and sure enough, I found a name for us! I really wanted to tell you but I knew that you'd see it as weird so I kept it till myself quite contently... until THAT day."

Glancing across to Erika and gripping her hand for a second, Gary had a funny feeling what she would say as the answer to his question but went ahead and asked it anyway. "So what is our shipping name?"

Erika gestured at the computer screen; her fingers lingering under a word that Gary suspected would be the answer.

Earthshipping.

"I get it now..." Gary began, now eager for this conversation to be over, however the hint was not picked up upon by Erika.

"The day that I discovered that we as a pairing were named Earthshipping made me smile so much; it fits so well what with your preference to ground type Pokemon and physical type attacks and myself liking grass Pokemon. So it really upset me when I, by chance, saw that on this fanfiction writing website some users on there were using that name for Groudon and Kyogre, Pokemon who have slept for thousands of years! I tried to tell these people that they were wrong, that Groudon and Kyogre bizarrely have their own shipping name, yet I was told that "it's only fanfiction" and that I shouldn't get worked up!" Erika whined, clearly starting to get annoyed about the situation all over again. "Their name is ORBSHIPPING, because they can only be woken up with two that are closely guarded. We are EARTHSHIPPING, nobody else!"

Rubbing his forehead with his two forefingers, Gary sighed and rolled his eyes. He was finding it hard to believe that Erika would get so agitated over something as pointless as this. The fact that some people were using a name for a pairing, a shipping, when the name was already in use for a different couple was pointless and pathetic compared to some of the stuff going on in the real world...

"Gary?" Erika comforted, snapping the researcher out of his train of thought.

"I'm sorry, but it's not right."

"I completely agree! I mean, it is first come first served and the name was first coined for you and I..."

"No, you have the wrong end of the stick!" Gary snapped, his arms flung in the air as he stepped away from the shellshocked Erika. "This is some kind of joke? I'm struggling here; why are you getting so wound up over something as needless, as downright fucking stupid, as this? Let them do what the blazes they want with these names, it's not going to harm you, me or anybody else! Besides, these people need a brain check if they get off on pairing me off with Umbreon..."

"How DARE you?" the Celadon Gym leader interrupted, pointing accusingly at Gary as mental promises not to fly off the handle at him ended up zooming out of the window. "Earthshipping was first coined for us, not a pair of unattractive Pokemon who may not be seen for another twenty generations! This is an insult to me, just like how it is also degrading whenever people hate my perfume, or call my Pokemon ugly, or mock my personal fashion sense! I thought you would understand... I guess I was wrong."

"It's just a stupid list that some boring twat started for kicks, Erika! Get over it!"

"No! YOU get over the fact that I find this personally insulting! Do people hate me enough to want to do things like this to me, to try and upset me? Because believe you and me, it's working!"

"Erika, come on now, there is no need for this..." Gary soothed in an attempt to calm down his hysterical girlfriend, yet his advances were rebuffed, Erika dismissing them with a raised arm as she stormed out of the room.

"There is every need my dear... for this is serious business!"

Palm of the hand connected with the forehead as Gary groaned at what had just happened. Almost instantly he dashed out of the room to try and console the clearly worked-up Erika and stopped in the hallway just as suddenly when he saw that she was nowhere to be seen. Noting that she must have ran down the hallway the researcher wondered if he should go and find her to calm her down... yet decided against it. She was annoyed over how he found her problem too trivial to be considered one, it was best to leave her alone for a bit, let her cool down by herself.

Rolling his eyes and tutting to himself, Gary strolled over to the computer, sat down on the chair next to it and began to click a few links around the site, to read about the stories with, according to Erika, the wrong shipping name. A few exceedingly slow minutes passed before Gary was joined by his Umbreon, who leapt onto his lap and barked happily. With a smile Gary playfully ruffled the top of his favourite Pokemon's head and let out a small, somewhat devious, chuckle.

"Amazing how people can get worked up over something so stupid, huh Umbreon?" he smirked, browsing some more on the website.

As he was continuing to trawl through the site, Gary found himself laughing at some of the shipping names there was on offer. Some of them had really pathetic names and in the reviews to the stories written about the pairs there were a few people insulting the author for using the wrong name, similar to how Erika reacted just a short while ago. Laughter was still being echoed across the four walls of the room as Gary continued to browse... yet clicking on a link suddenly made him stop laughing and stare at the screen.

"Because kissing the forbidden shouldn't be that." he began to read out aloud while Umbreon preened himself on his trainers lap. "Mirrorshipping, better known as Gary x Umbreon..."

He placed his hand over his mouth in thought, brow furrowed. Didn't Erika say to him that the shipping name for himself and his Umbreon was Darkshipping, not Mirrorshipping? Despite him finding it disgusting that there were people out there who could see him having a relationship with his very own Pokemon, something annoyed him... and much as he tried to deny it because of what he was saying to his girlfriend earlier, he knew exactly and instantly what was getting him riled.

The fact that the author of the story was using the wrong name for the pairing involved.

"Bastards!" Gary found himself screaming at the computer, hoisting himself off the chair with such a force Umbreon was sent tumbling to the floor in an awkward looking heap. The Moonlight Pokemon then watched in complete confusion as he saw his trainer charge out of the room like a man possessed, hollering out a sentence that sounded like a defiant battle cry.

"You are right Erika! This is DEADLY serious business!"


End file.
